Stephen Soro, 36, polishing a shoes in front of Juba Stadium on 4th September 2023. Photo. Charles Wote/Eye Radio.

Stephen Soro is a former commissionership aspirant who turned shoeshiner to build a grinding mill in his home town – Mundri West County, in Western Equatoria State.

Soro who contested in the 2010 elections for commisionership of Mundri West County says he makes 5,000 pounds a day from his shoe-shining business.

After missing the appointment in 2010, the 36-year-old Stephen Soro travelled to Juba and established a shoeshine business with an initial capital of 20,000 pounds.

On his small table placed in front of the western gate of Juba stadium, Soro has nylon for repairing shoes, polish creams and water in a 1.5 plastic bottle which he uses for cleaning his customers’ shoes.

The then Commissionership aspirer says he mainly polished a pair of shoes at 300 South Sudanese pounds and earns up to 5,000 pounds a day.

According to Stephen Soro, he uses part of this money for feeding, paying the rent, covering medical bills and buying other items required for his business.

“I have this nylon for repairing the shoes and I have a polishing cream.” He told Eye Radio in an interview.

“On a good day I will polish like ten [shoes] but some days if rain is there, maybe I will not. [Polishing] is 300 pounds per each, if you don’t have 300, you may pay to me 200 pounds.” Soro added.      

Being the father of one, Soro lives now in Hai Malakal cemetery in Juba where he is renting a shelter of about three and a half by two meters at a total of 6,000 pounds a month.

He is among the over 2000 homeless individuals living at the Juba graveyard.

Born in 1987, Soro was aspiring to become the County Commissioner of Mundri West shortly after the 2010 general elections. At that time, he was serving as a senior bookkeeper in the area.

According to him, his aspiration for the Commissionership was to lead his people, provide better service and create job opportunities for the community.

“By then I was appointed as a junior bookkeeper, from junior bookkeeper I became senior bookkeeper, from senior bookkeeper I became a clerk from clerk now I am an accountant but that time of 2010, when I was trying that [become the commissioner] I was still a senior bookkeeper.” He said. 

“My thought was to lead my people to do better work and better service to my people. Even though I am here, I do help so much because I love my people and I love my country.”

Despite mobilizing his supporters in the eastern counties of the State, Soro says his name was removed from the appointing list at the last minute.

“In the counties of Mundri plus that of Ibba and some other counties, I started my campaign then they accepted but when the time came for me to be appointed, then the name of a different person appeared so that is why I failed.”

“I discovered that as it was to be announced today another name was announced and they took my name out.”

Since 2007, Soro has suffered what he referred to as body deformity, the deviation in the shape of the body caused by medical conditions.

The situation he said has made him not to continue eying the Commissioner’s seat but adds he will continue to advocate for the welfare of his community.

If supported, Soro says he plans to establish his own enterprise in his home town, Mundri West County.

“I had that aspiration but the problem now is when I became sick and I became deformity, it makes me not to continue [aspiring for Commissionership.”

He believed that establishing one’s own enterprise encourages the ability to create job opportunities, contribute to the economy, and pursue one’s passion and vision.

“My plan is to do a self-reliant work or to be creative so that I should have a good future.”

“What I want to do is this paste grand mill and buy a tricycle for the movement then I will stay in one place and do the work.”

“I will stay in Mundri because in Juba there is much more demand than in the village. I may be here and get the money but the money will not last because everything here depends on money.”